“I usually go to the gym 4-5 times a week and never have any problems. I guess I’m getting older because out of nowhere I developed left elbow pain. Whenever I attempt to lower weight from preacher curl, I would get an excruciating sharp pain that would cause me to jerk. It did not bother me as much at home unless I was trying to open a jar or when lifting a gallon of milk. I saw an orthopedist, who gave me an injection which got rid of my pain immediately. But it only lasted a little over a week, and then the symptoms started to return. I was going to get another injection, but my girlfriend pushed me to see a physical therapist. After searching the internet, I stumbled upon Virtual Physical Therapists and wanted to give it a try since I live far from a facility. I was amazed by how easy it was and how quickly my PT was able to diagnose me. He immediately noticed that I had lost the ability to straighten my arm fully. I did not realize this, and the orthopedic doctor never looked that close. When I started to do the exercises, it did hurt a bit. But the more I did them, the more motion I got, and by the next day, I was able to straighten my arm again. I went back to lifting but less weight. Initially, it would bother me on occasion, but as soon as I stopped and did my exercises again, the pain would go away. I was able to e-mail my clinician any questions that I had. It has now been four weeks without any pain!” Craig R.
“Craig was great to work with. hHe was eager to learn the caused his pain and what he needed to do to get rid of it and get back into the gym! A mechanical assessment revealed elbow pain that was produced with an attempt to extend his arm fully, gripping, supination (turning doorknob), lifting and especially lower any weight. We first addressed his loss of extension. The more we stretched into extension, his motion improved and hiss symptoms lessened. The mechanical assessment revealed an internal derangement that responded to extension with overpressure. Craig was eager to learn, and after just one visit and e-mail follow-up, he was able to get himself fully pain-free and back to the gym! —————- Tom Kane DPT, Cert. MDT
